Bernanke briefs Obama, Geithner on US economy

US President Barack Obama met Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday to discuss the stuttering US economy and fears of contagion from Europe’s debt crisis.

“The president and the chairman discussed the outlook for the recovery and for jobs as well as fiscal issues, including the need to tackle long-term deficit reduction," the White House said in a statement.

“They also discussed the situation in Europe. This was the third time the president met with the chairman this year."

Obama and Bernanke were joined in the Oval Office meeting by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, White House chief of staff Bill Daley and Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council.

On Tuesday, the Fed pledged to hold interest rates near zero for two more years to counter an economy facing increased risks of stalling.

But it offered no successor to the $US600 billion “QE2" stimulus program that wound up in June, though it said it was reviewing the tools it has on hand to boost a slowing economy.